ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITIES OF BIOACTIVE EXTRACTS OF A POLYPORE MUSHROOM, FOMITOPSIS PINICOLA (SW.:FR.) P. KARST, FROM KASHMIR.

Fomitopsis pinicola, a polypore mushroom, was investigated for its medicinal properties. In this study, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the mushroom were examined. The fruiting bodies of the mushroom were defatted with petroleum ether, and then extracted with ethyl acetate (EA) and ethanol (ETH). Both the extracts were found to possess radical scavenging activities against DPPH., ABTS.+, nitric oxide and OH. radicals. The extracts also reduced Fe3+ ions and inhibited lipid peroxidation. The extracts were further evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity against carrageenan and formalin induced acute and chronic edema respectively in mouse model. An oral dose of 500 mg/Kg body weight of EA extract inhibited both acute and chronic inflammation by 52.77 and 46.44% and the ETH extract at the same dose inhibited 33.33 and 30.44% respectively. EA extract also inhibited carrageenan induced leukocyte infiltration in to the peritoneal cavity of mice. Both EA and ETH extracts lowered ethanol induced liver lipid peroxidation in mice nearly by 60%. Anti-inflammatory activity against croton oil induced skin inflammation showed that topical application of 20 mg of EA reduced skin inflammation and leukocyte infiltration. The extract also lowered lipid peroxidation resulted from croton oil application by almost 60%. In Cylooxygenase (COX) activity assay, EA extract inhibited the activity by 55.85%. Major chemical constituents of the mushroom are steroids, alkaloids, coumarins, phenols, tannins, saponins and carbohydrates. The study thus demonstrated that EA and ETH extracts of F. pinicola possessed significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.